Watching the whistle men;

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Watching The
Basketball...
A sports buff had barely introduced a
colleague to professional basketball
when an opportunity arose to prove his
expertise. The Atlanta Hawks skillfully
passed the ball across the court only
to hear a referee yell "three seconds"
and hand the ball to the opposing New
York Knicks. What's this? It's simple:
An offensive player stood longer than
the permissible three seconds in the
"pivot"-the shaded 19 x 16-foot
lane around his basket.
No longer considering himself a novice
on this rule, the new fan went on to
watch one of the Knicks stand in his
lane for about three seconds, then,
after receiving the ball, definitely
remain there another second or two to
fake, spin and shoot. But, he pointed
out, both referees ignored that
violation. Even the buff didn't know
why. The three-second rule is waived if
the player standing in the "pivot" is
trying to shoot during the third second.
For both avid and casual fans, there
are innumerable chances to disagree
with the decisions of the men who
officiate either basketball or hockey
games. Officials for both sports must
makeso many controversial and complex
rulings-while sprinting alongside
the younger players-that they
usually feel a need to retire at an age
(45 or so) when officials only begin
their careers in professional football.
The two referees in each basketball
game call so many fouls that one team
may score more field goals (two points)
yet lose the game because the opponent
made a far greater number of foul
shots (one point). These decisions are
questioned so frequently and
passionately that, in many games, a
coach or player argues until a referee
awards the other team a "technical
foul," which enables its best foul
shooter to attempt an unhindered shot.
To excel in this unappreciated, oft-hectic
job, referees need a lifelong
commitmenttothesport.lt is particularly
strong with the twenty men who spent
years officiating high school and college
games on a part-time basis before
obtaining full-time seasonal jobs with the
National Basketball Association. Many of
them have never wanted any job other
than to play, coach or officiate basketball.
And one, Mendy Rudolph, is a second
generation referee.
All referees, moreover, need the
instinct to stay near the ball no
matter how cleverly it is passed. To
simplify this, one referee stands
behind the basket of the team trying to
score while the other is near midcourt.
When that team either loses the ball or
scores, the referee at midcourt can
then run ahead of the players to
position himself underneath the other
basket. His partner, meanwhile, shifts
from under the goal to midcourt.
The referee underneath the basket must
scrutinize so much scuffling that he
rarely even sees the ball go through
the goal. Theorizing "no harm, then no
foul" during most contact, he
particularly watches for spirited
"picks," which bump a defenseman out
of a play and jarring collisions that
are caused by either blocking by a
defenseman or charging by the player
with the ball. When the ball is near
the basket, this referee determines if
the offensive man's arms were struck
or anyone else pushed or elbowed.
When players leap for a ball rebounding
off the basket fastened ten feet above
the floor, the referee also knows where
to watch for a player immobilizing an
opponent by stepping on his toes or
pushing off his shoulder for leverage.
The referee at midcourt also rules on
collisions within his area. But he is
largely responsible for determining
both "loose ball fouls" during
scrambles and "backcourt fouls" when
a team is trying to seize the ball; or
deciding whether a team loses
possession of the ball because a
player moved both feet without
dribbling, touched a boundary or
knocked a ball out of bounds. (When
the referees disagree on who last
touched a ball, they have two opposing
players jump for it.) The midcourt
referee signals perfunctorily when a
field goal is obviously scored and
authoritatively when someone misses a
shot but is still awarded two points
because a leaping opponent "goal
tended" by either deflecting the ball
as it descended or touched the ball or
basket when the ball was on
the rim of the basket.
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